Car journal protector



Jan. 3, 1933 M. E. FlTZ GERALD CAR JOURNAL PROTECTOR Filed 00%.. 5, 1951 Patented Jan. 3, 1933 UNITED STATES MARTIN E. r Tz GERALD, or DANVILLE, Inmate 1&1 nssre iqon To ,nmvlms an enm ATTACHMENT COMPANY, a ethane nac on or. InLmoIs GAR JOURNAL momma Application filed October 5, 1931. seriaiiro. 586,946;

The invention relates to a device for protecting the journals of railway car axles from-' injury, particularly during the process of assembling and disassembling them with and from the journal boxes. In the operations of assembling and disassembling, journals are in danger of being marred or scratched and this danger is greatly increased since the practice of casting the boxes integrally with the truck frames has come into use.

When it becomes necessary to remove a pair of wheels from the car, the wedges and bearing brasses are first withdrawn from the box and the latter is drawn forward over the journal.

The box being of considerable weight there is great danger that some part of it, and particularly the dust guard contained within it, shall come into contact with the journal. The journal being highly polished and made of soft steel is easily marred or scratched. When the box is formed integrally with the truck frame, the casting weighs approximately 600 lbs. and is diiiicult to handle without injury to the journal.

When the journal surface is marred or scratched, even though the injury may be so slight that it escapes notice, the conditions are created for developing a hot box as soon as the car comes into service.

Such injuries to the journal are still more liable to occur in the assembling operation than in disassembling and are not apt to be noticed or reported by the workmen. When the car comes into service with an abraded journal, fibers of the packing waste are caught and carried under the brass where they may lodge and set up sufficient friction to ignite the lubrication. Unless the heating is quickly discovered, and it is quite likely to escape noticeespecially on freight trainsthe journal may be, and often is, melted off and a serious accident results.

The object of the present invention is to provide means for protecting the journal from abrasion during the operations of assembling it with or disassembling it from the box.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is hereinafter described and is illuswhich trated; in the accompanying drawing, in

V ;Figs.- 1;and 2 are, respectively; plan and Side views ofthe protector applied to a car journal; I j v Fig. 3 is a sectional view'ori -the line 3+3 of Fig. 2;

Fig; 4 is aview inl perspective oithe-improved protector.

"There'is shown at 10 a portion' of a car axle}.

its journal being i represented at" 11 and the" brass retaining flanges at the ends of the j ourna l being shown at-12 and' 13 practice, asis well-known, the jo'l-lrna l' projects into a so-called journalbox from thereztr end of the latter. The box is attached to. or formed integrally with theend frameof the track and.fits/weight islb'orne by the'j'ournat 11, there beinginterposed betweenthejournal and thetop'of the box a. bearing block known as abrass'which ridesupon'the journal and a retaining wedge placed in between the brass and-the t'opo-f the box for retaining'fthebrass in position and preventi'ng'it from turning. with the journal- The lower portion' of the; box chamber is@packe'ed with cotton waste.

which is saturated witlroili A dust guard of metal is fitted within the upper portion of the rear end of the box and rides upon the end of the axle 10 immediately back of the inner journal shoulder 13.

The improved protector is formed of a sheet of metal 14 of suflicient length to fit between the flange 12 and shoulder 13 and is curved as shown in Fig. 4 to conform to the circumference of the journal 11 and covers the upper half thereof. The ends of the plate 14 may be flanged upwardly, such a flange'15 being shown at its rearward end for engaging the shoulder 13. The side margins of the plate 14 are preferably outwardly flanged as shown at 16 and a pair of spring arms 17 are attached to the outer face of the plate 14 adjacent its side margins by rivets or other suitable fastening means. The arms are ofiset at 18 to accommodate the journal flange and are joined at their forward ends by an integral handle partition 19. The spring arms 17 are so spaced from each other and shaped as to clamp tightly against the flange used by,tl 1e',workmen."' In use in disassema and curved transversely anda pair-0f. clampwhen the protector is seated on the journal and the protector is thus prevented from turning movement as work of assembling or detaching proceeds. The side flanges 16 0f the protector guard the journal against accidental contact with it of tools which may be bling, the protector is inserted after the brass has been removed, and in assembling, is fitted n upon the journal before it is; inserted into the box and is rea dily withdrawnfrom the open front end of the box after the latter has been properly positioned over the journal.

While the form of structure disclosed has been found to be highly practicable, the inventiqll is of sufiici-entscope to-inclu'de any form of structure adapted to cover the jour= n'al. andbeing' provided with means for preventing its dlsplacement, as by turning about the smooth surface of the journal.

vWhat I claim, therefore, is i r 1. In a car journal protector, a sheet metal plate-conforming in length with the journal and curved transversely and spring arms projectingv from the end ,ofthe plate and adapted to friotionally engage the end flang of the axle, Q I

e 2. ,In a car journal protector, a sheetmetal plate conforming in length with the journal and curved transversely and. spring arms projectingfrom thefend' of the plate and adapted tofrictionally engage the end flange of'the axle and. a handle connecting the outer, ends of the arms;

3., In a car journal protector, a sheetmetal plate conformingin length with the journal ing springs, projecting forwardly from the plate adjacent to its side margins for engga ing the end flange of theaxle.

fn testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

3 MARTINE; FITZ GERALD. 

